We continually strive to ensure satisfaction with all the services we provide to authors and readers of our journals. In particular, the careful selection of external expert reviewers is of utmost importance. It is the reviewers’ critical scrutiny that enables authors to improve their scientific output and guarantees the high quality of published articles. We depend on feedback from the author and reviewer communities about their experience. Over the last two years we have collected opinions and ratings from authors and reviewers. Below is a summary of the results:

WHY PUBLISH WITH MDPI?

Authors want to see their research published as soon as possible. It has long been one of our top priorities to fulfill this need. When submitting their manuscript to one of our journals, authors receive a first decision within approximately 28 days; once accepted, we prepare the manuscript for publication within 10 days (median values for all papers published in MDPI journals in 2013). While authors see their manuscript processed without unnecessary delays, they take advantage of a professional editing service, provided by the editorial office. We guarantee a thorough manuscript evaluation conducted by peers from the relevant research field, professional copy-editing once a manuscript has been accepted for publication, and a continuous effort to ensure that all published papers are covered by relevant indexing databases, such as PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science.

As per the 2013 survey, 98% of authors consider publishing with MDPI again.

“No suggestions, only praise: the editorial service was absolutely excellent! I also appreciate that there are no hidden fees and that the entire processing of the article was quick and professional. I will definitely consider MDPI again for future publications.”

Submitting a manuscript can be very cumbersome and time-consuming, but we believe it can also be a smooth and problem-free process. As researchers typically have a very busy schedule, we have made it a priority to condense the submission process into four easy steps, which can be completed online in just a few minutes. As a response to the feedback and suggestions we received from authors, we have already started to implement more user-friendly functions to our in-house submission system.

“I am very satisfied and I believe that MDPI is ahead of time in terms of scientific editorial services.”

OUR REVIEWERS – A GUARANTEE FOR SCIENTIFIC QUALITY

When our journal editors invite an expert to review a submitted manuscript, they have already carried out a careful check of their suitability, including their qualifications and research experience. We also carefully check their impartiality, taking into account shared affiliations and previous research collaborations with the authors. Our reviewers make an essential contribution towards the publication of high-quality science, however their time resources are limited. We try our best to make the review process as easy and hassle free as possible.

95% were satisfied with the simplicity and usability of our review submission system

89% of our reviewers assessed our review submission system to be comfortable to work with

“Thank you for the “Guide to Reviewers” provided on the MDPI website. This is the first time I come across this kind of information, which helped clarify what’s expected from reviewers“

“I am impressed with the speed at which reviews took place and the promptness of the author to quickly and adequately respond to all comments from reviewers. This has greatly facilitated the final version to be submitted by the author after three rounds of reviews and four revisions”

There is, of course, always room for improvement: reviewers participating in the survey suggested many improvements. We have already taken action to follow up on these and hope that we now offer an even better reviewer experience.

Cheers!

We strive to continuously meet the needs of researchers from multiple disciplines. We want to thank you for your feedback and loyalty, and assisting us in providing a publishing service characterized by efficiency and quality. We look forward to being able to publish your work in the future.